Background/Purpose: Chikungunya fever is a reemerging viral infection in the Philippines and neighboring countries. Persistent arthralgia following Chikungunya infection has been observed during previous epidemics, but few studies have discussed this aspect of the disease.

Methods: Adult patients who were diagnosed to have Chikungunya fever were included in this study.  Patients were assessed at the time of acute infection and were followed-up at least 12 months after the acute disease occurred.  Patients were asked questions regarding musculoskeletal symptoms and were examined on follow-up.

Results: Fourteen patients were included in this study. Ten (71%) were female, and the mean age was 31.67± 14.23 years. Mean duration of follow-up was 13.9 months. None of these patients reported a history of preexisting arthralgia. Eight (57%) had arthritis lasting at least 6 weeks following the acute infection, with a mean duration of 13.6 ± 5.72 weeks. Seven of the 14 patients (50%) had persistent arthralgia, with five (71%) having intermittent arthralgia, and 2 (29%) having continuous arthralgia. Two patients had recurrent chronic arthritis. One patient had a traumatic fracture of the third right metatarsal on the third month of illness. Arthralgia was symmetric and polyarticular in all cases, with the ankles being the most commonly affecred joint area (71%).

Conclusion: Chikungunya can result in severe, debilitating arthralgia that affects daily activities, and may persist for as long as a year.  Further studies are needed to determine the prevalence of persistent arthralgia, identify risk factors, and establish the real burden of disease.

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ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/persistent-arthralgia-following-chikungunya-fever/